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Photograph of broad gauge locomotive, Bristol, 1890 (Catalogue reference: RAIL 1014/19/1/34)

This is a brief guide to help you research records of a railway company. The records of English and Welsh railway companies nationalised in 1947 are held at The National Archives. Local archives also have extensive collections relating to railways. It will be difficult to find the records of a particular railway unless you know which company owned it.

  • What records can I see online?

    • There are no records of railway companies available to see online.

  • What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?

    • Records of private railway companies nationalised in 1947

      Browse the Catalogue in RAIL for the records of all private railway companies taken into public ownership by the Transport Act of 1947. They include board minutes, timetables, accident reports, and railway magazines.

    • Records of the British Transport Commission and the British Railways Board (1802-1999)

      Browse the Catalogue in AN for records of the British Transport Commission, the British Railways Board and related bodies. The series covers all aspects of the organisations' establishment, administration and operation.

    • Records of the Board of Trade Railway department (1853-1975)

      Search railway accident reports by date and, if known, location of accident.


  • What records can I find in other archives and organisations?

    • Records held locally

      Consult appendix 3 of Railway Records: A Guide to Sources by Cliff Edwards (Public Record Office, 2001), which has a guide to railway company records held by local archives.

      You can also try searching for the railway company in the Access to Archives (A2A) and National Register of Archives (NRA) databases.

  • What other resources will help me find information?

    • Books

      Consult the British Railways Pre Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer or the Railway and Commercial Gazetteers (Ian Allan Publishing, 1997) to find out which companies owned, or operated through, a particular station.

      Read Railway Records: A Guide to Sources by Cliff Edwards (Public Record Office, 2001). Appendix 3 provides a guide to which record offices might hold the records of which railway companies.

  • The National Archives is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Related guides

Did you know?

Before 1923 there were many private railway companies operating across Britain.

In 1923 over 120 of these private companies merged into four new groups, known collectively as the 'big four'. These were the Great Western Railway, the London Midland and Scottish Railway, the London and North Eastern Railway, and the Southern Railway.

The Transport Act of 1947 nationalised the railways, after which they were managed by the British Transport Commission, British Railways Board and other related bodies.

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